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“LINDA SHENWICK” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2149-H2150 on May 15, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LINDA SHENWICK
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, having some concern by the recent UN votes that denied the United States a seat on both the Human Rights Commission and the Narcotics Trafficking Commission, many of my colleagues are again questioning how the U.S. should approach its participation in the United Nations.
In reality, while there is sufficient reason to assess blame on certain functions within the UN, we should also look to our own government. In 1999, during the State Department authorization debate, I brought to the attention of my colleagues the treatment of a dedicated State Department employee, Ms. Linda Shenwick.
Ms. Shenwick is an exemplary public servant, having served in the United States mission to the United Nations handling personnel and budget issues. She quickly carved out a reputation for diligence and hard work.
She earned three consecutive outstanding ratings and a promotion to the Senior Executive Service. Ms. Shenwick's reputation earned the respect of other UN member states resulting in her election to serve on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions in 1991 and again then in 1993.
In her position she repeatedly found evidence of deliberate waste, fraud and mismanagement at the UN. Her reports, however, were largely ignored by the previous administration.
Without recourse to address these incidents on her own, Ms. Shenwick began notifying key Members of Congress regarding her discoveries. As a result of her work, Congress forced the UN to create an Office of Inspector General to end such fraud and mismanagement.
So how was one of the most valuable civil servants rewarded? Certain government officials and department employees embarked on a campaign to sabotage her career.
Ms. Shenwick has endured false accusations, unsubstantiated poor performance reviews, and the ultimate and, I believe, illegal removal from government service.
I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues that when former Secretary Madeline Albright refused to renominate Ms. Shenwick to the UN Budget Committee, negating 5 years of experience with the Byzantine UN budgetary bureaucracy, the U.S. ended up losing its seat on the Budget Committee for the next 4 years.
In all honesty, I do not think we would be seeing current problems at the U.S. mission if we had more employees like Linda Shenwick. Ms. Shenwick is a person that believes in the United Nations and wants to serve to bolster the influence of the United States and to strengthen the organization as a whole.
The problems of waste, fraud and mismanagement have been highlighted by most of my colleagues here on the House floor over the years.
Why, then, do we not insist that the Department of State staff the U.S. mission with those individuals who know where to look for these problems and have the courage and have the dedication to serve and to report them to Congress?
Ms. Shenwick should be reinstated to her former position, reimbursed for her personal expenses, and we should have her personnel files expunged of any unsatisfactory reviews or other false evidence to justify those reviews.
I will be sending a letter to President Bush requesting reinstatement of Ms. Shenwick so the United States can again benefit from her expertise, her diligence, and highly exemplary service.
Mr. Speaker, I am also introducing a concurrent resolution to the same effect. I hope my colleagues will join with me in signing this letter to the President and also cosponsor my legislation.
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